Phone scams are coming at a great cost to Britons, new research from NordVPN reveals. Britons lose an average of £784 to fraudulent calls, the highest figure among all countries studied.

It's a growing problem in the UK, with a total of 77% of Brits having received at least one dodgy call over the past twelve months.

But here's where it gets properly concerning — nearly a third of people say these scam calls and messages actually make them feel unsafe in their daily lives. Globally, trust in picking up the phone has taken a real hit too, with 34 per cent saying their confidence in phone calls has dropped over the past year.

Domininkas Virbickas, product director at NordVPN, said: "What these numbers reflect is a deeper anxiety about not being able to trust a call.

"The fact that so many people feel unsafe is a sign that something fundamental has shifted about how people relate to one of the most basic communication tools we have."

So what kinds of calls are catching people out when they do hit the "answer" button?

Telemarketers and pushy sales agents top the list, with a third of Brits saying they've dealt with these unwanted approaches. Britons could be more likely to hand over their information due to the urgent nature in the conversation, too.

For instance, you might be tempted to jump on a promotion for an item that feels too good to be true.

On the other hand, scammers could be exploiting your need for help.

The research also reveals that one in five people reported receiving fake customer service or tech support calls— someone claiming your computer has a virus or your account needs urgent attention. And if you've ever had issues arise with your work devices, then these criminals could be calling at a time when you're already expecting theme.

The same amount of people even encountered callers pretending to be from banks or other financial institutions. If successful, they could trick you into handing in your login information or other sensitive details, resulting in draining your bank accounts.

These consistent attempts appear to be eliminating the trust people have with incoming callers.

Alex Algard, CEO of Hiya, a fraud protection company who has partnered with NordVPN said: “Trust in the phone is eroding, and people are answering fewer calls and missing the ones that matter. That is the cost of letting scammers win.

"Giving consumers a clear warning before they answer a scam call is how we turn this around, and it is why we partner with companies like NordVPN to bring that protection to more people.”

Here's where things get even trickier — artificial intelligence (AI) is now being used to make these scams harder to spot.

Nearly one in three people worldwide received what's called an AI deepfake voice call in the past year. This scary piece of tech is a hyper-realistic digital manipulation of an image, video, or audio clip created using AI to make a real person appear to say or do something they never did.

Recently, Meta came under fire for unleashing a new feature to make this much, much easier for bad actors.

People are fighting back in the simplest way they can — more than half of Brits now block suspicious callers straight away.

Additionally, the UK's biggest mobile networks like EE, O2, Vodafone and more have joined forces to crackdown on scam calls. They've come together to launch a landmark charter designed to protect customers from the criminals behind the spate of scam calls and text messages. And it can't come soon enough, with the latest research showing that someone in the UK has their identity stolen every two minutes.

Fraud is one of the most widespread crime types in the UK, according to a crime survey for England and Wales. In a statement from the Home Office: "This Charter represents a landmark commitment from the telecoms industry to tackle fraud head-on.

"It builds on the progress made since 2021 on preventing scam calls and texts and protecting its customers, and sets out a bold, practical roadmap for action, preventing scam calls and texts, strengthening data sharing, harnessing AI to prevent scams, and supporting victims with compassion. Tackling fraud is also a major contributor to the government’s growth mission."

The UK telecoms and law enforcement have rolled out a national traceback solution — essentially a technical way for phone companies and the police to follow the path of a suspicious or fraudulent call across different networks until they find where it started. This is similar to tracking a parcel as it moves between delivery hubs, but for phone calls.

If it works, it means telecoms will be able to pass on addresses where these mass scam calls are being hosted.